September 5, 2002--
The
University of Virginia can proceed with its proposed parking garage,
the state’s secretary of administration announced late Wednesday.

“My actions
allow construction to proceed at the university’s discretion,
but under condition that the university pay for all traffic and
safety improvements directly related to the garage,” Sandra
D. Bowen wrote to U.Va. President John T. Casteen III. She noted
that the nature and cost of those improvements will not be clear
until a new traffic study being commissioned by the University and
the City of Charlottesville is complete.

The city is
advertising for traffic engineering firms interested in conducting
the study, to be paid for by the University. The deadline for submitting
bids is Sept. 13, with the study to be completed by Nov. 30.

The University
already has committed to pay more than $5 million for several improvements
related to traffic in the area, including a new connection between
Massie Road and the U.S. 29/250 bypass, the expansion of one lane
west from the garage’s Ivy Road entrance, and synchronizing
six traffic signals on Ivy Road and Emmet Street.

Leonard W. Sandridge,
U.Va. executive vice president and chief operating officer, further
agreed, in an Aug. 29 memo to Bowen, “to cover the reasonable
costs associated with implementing any traffic mitigation measures
recommended by the new study related to traffic flow generated by
the garage, and the vehicular movements into and out of the garage.”

A second condition
of Bowen’s approval is that the Virginia Department of Transportation
(VDOT) have a continuing role in the process. She said that VDOT
must approve the scope of the new traffic study and must review
the completed study to be sure it has been properly conducted.

In addition,
“I strongly recommend that the university and the City of
Charlottesville include VDOT in the steering committee that will
oversee this project,” Bowen wrote to Casteen. The University
has agreed with her recommendation.

The University’s
contractor will begin preliminary work next week to prepare the
site for construction, said Colette Sheehy, vice president for management
and budget.

“Now that
we have learned we can proceed, we hope to move forward as promptly
as possible,” she said. “Our goal has always been to
have this garage available next fall, so the students and employees
who now have permits on the north side of Massie Road will have
an off-street place to park when those spaces are eliminated.”

Contact: Louise
Dudley, (434) 924-1400

FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
of University Relations at (434) 924-7116. Television reporters
should contact the TV News Office at (434) 924-7550.